


Allure

by Theoroark



Series: Dark Room [2]
Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Business Trip, F/M, First Kiss, First Meetings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-02
Updated: 2018-11-02
Packaged: 2019-08-16 18:11:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,583
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16500245
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Theoroark/pseuds/Theoroark
Summary: Akande was nothing if not thorough. Not quite thorough, Ashe amended. Something less than that and more than that. Instinctive wasn’t quite right, because that implied a lack of skill, and she knew that was nothing Akande was deficient in. He was the intersection of observant and knowledgeable, quick wits and a long experience of staring down liars. She should be able to name it, she had it herself, but she couldn’t quite.Clever, she decided to call him, as she watched him examine her childhood bedroom. He was clever, and so was she, but she had not been clever enough to prevent this.





	Allure

Ashe hadn’t meant for Akande to find this.

 

She should have suspected he would, maybe. He was nothing if not thorough. Not quite thorough, she amended. Something less than that and more than that. Instinctive wasn’t quite right, because that implied a lack of skill, and she knew that was nothing Akande was deficient in. He was the intersection of observant and knowledgeable, quick wits and plenty of experience of staring down liars. She should be able to name it, she had it herself, but she couldn’t quite.

 

Clever, she decided to call him, as she watched him examine her childhood bedroom. He was clever, and so was she, but she had not been clever enough to prevent this.

 

They had met in Venice, on his turf. Talon needed weapons, Deadlock had weapons, Talon had more money than God, Deadlock wanted the kind of influence riches bought. It was a good match, but Ashe was too good a businesswoman to go in complacent. She and Akande had gotten ten minutes into their negotiations before Ashe had realized how he was predicting her every move, and she was predicting his, and she had smiled as she had told him his offer was unacceptable. He had cocked his head, studied her for a moment, and then smiled back.

 

“Let’s go to the terrace,” he had said. “We’ll reach an agreement. There’s no reason not to be comfortable while we do so.”

 

And they had. But part of that deal was that Akande would personally inspect Deadlock operations. Make sure they could make good on their promises. At the time, as she descended in the elevator, the warmth of his hand still lingering on hers, Ashe had fooled herself into thinking it was an excuse to see her again.

 

Maybe she wasn’t so clever, thinking back on that. Or maybe Akande just thoroughly trumped her in that regard, tricking her into tricking herself. Because he had been all business when he arrived, surveying every inch of her warehouse and stopping random Deadlock members for questioning. She had trailed behind him, answering all his questions. He seemed satisfied. Then he asked to see her accounting records.

 

“Those are in my house,” she had said.

 

“Okay,” Akande said. He waited patiently, hands behind his back. Ashe stared. “Were you going to bring them to me, or…?”

 

“Ah, no. No.” She coughed. All of the Deadlock members in the vicinity had rapidly disappeared. “No, no. It’s a short drive away. That wouldn’t make sense.”

 

Akande nodded. Still waiting. Her shoulders fell as she pulled out her holovid. “B.O.B.,” she said into it. “Get the car ready.”

 

It was a short drive, especially done the spotless streets of Deadlock territory. B.O.B. opened the door for Akande and he took off his sunglasses as he stepped into the shadow of the Ashe family manor. “Are your records secure here?” he asked, and Ashe couldn’t even be offended. One of the balconies was on the front lawn. There was a massive dent in one of the marble pillars. Three windows were boarded up. Her house was nothing like how it was in her childhood and even if she liked it like that, she couldn’t imagine many other folks did.

 

“I sleep here,” she said, striding towards the front door. “And B.O.B. lives here. So of course they are. Most secure place in the damn state.” She thought she heard Akande chuckle as he fell into step behind her.

 

She brought him to her office. He settled behind the big oak desk. He opened the large file folder she handed him, peered at it for a moment, then sighed and pulled a pair of reading glasses out of his front pocket and put them on. _Cute_ , she thought before she could stop herself, and she cursed her damn brain that gave her that word unprompted, and refused to classify what exactly made Akande so dangerous.

 

She coughed. “You want a drink, or anything? I don’t think y’all get good bourbon in Italy.”

 

“Only if you’ll join me,” Akande said, without looking up. Ashe grinned and motioned B.O.B. towards the kitchen. When he came back with two glasses, she settled in the armchair in the corner and took a sip.

 

“You must have questions,” she said. He nodded. “Well. Shoot.”

 

They talked for hours, going through every minute bit of Deadlock’s operations. Ashe was quite sure none of this was useful to Akande, but her competence was, and she understood needing to ascertain that. She played along, giving him everything he asked for and more, until it was late and he stifled a yawn.

 

“You tired?” she asked. He looked up quickly. “I got plenty of guest bedrooms. In good condition, mind you.” He snorted. “You can spend the night.”

 

“I’m alright,” he said, standing. Ashe rolled her eyes.

 

“There aren’t exactly five star hotels up and down the block here. And if I wanted to kill you, either B.O.B. or I could have done that long ago.” The Omnic in the doorway nodded. “Stay here. You’ll get a much better rest then sleeping on your ship.”

 

“Fine,” he said, but in a half-laughing tone. Ashe led him up the double staircase and into the hallway.

 

“You can take any of these rooms,” she said, taking a gamble. And so of course Akande went for the first door on the left. Maybe lucky was what he was, or maybe she was just stupid. “Not that one!” she said quickly.

 

He turned to her, his hand still on the knob. “Why not?”

 

“Ah.”

 

Akande raised an eyebrow. “We both stated that transparency is important. If you or Deadlock are hiding an significant information from us, Talon operations could be put in jeopardy.”

 

“Oh, for chrissakes,” she said, and pushed past him– no mean feat, give his bulk– and opened the door. Akande peered into a room painted a light pink, shelves covered in books and trophies and bed topped with stuffed animals.

 

“You have a daughter?” he said after a moment. Ashe sighed.

 

“No. This is my room.” He looked down at her, startled, and she quickly amended. “Was my room. This is my childhood bedroom. Just. Never got around to redecorating.”

 

“Ah,” Akande said. He lingered in the doorway. Ashe sighed again.

 

“You can take a look if you want.”

 

He shot her a guilty smile. “I’m just curious, I suppose,” he said as he stepped over the threshold. Ashe could not help smiling in response.

 

And so she found herself here, trapped by pale pink walls and a star pattern comforter, Akande’s expression inscrutable. She waited five minutes, her eyes fixed on her favorite stuffed tiger– Ashe had named her Elizabeth, back when she was six and that name had just been a dream for her– before Akande spoke.

 

“You were rich,” he said. Not a question, a fact. “Based on our research on Jesse McCree, I had assumed you were from a similar background. That was an error of judgment on our part.”

 

Ashe snorted. “I’m a helluva lot different from Jesse McCree.”

 

“Indeed.” Akande turned to her but it was dark and the only light was the moon through the window, so she could not make out his expression. “I suppose my question is– I can understand him going into gang life, given that he did not have many other options. But you, you could have been anything. Why this?”

 

Not being able to see his eyes was killing her. She took a step forward. “You were rich too,” she said. “I did my research.”

 

He laughed. “I was.”

 

“You gonna tell me why you went this route, then?”

 

“I explained Talon’s mission to you,” he said. Ashe shook her head.

 

“I know that shit, Akande. And I know you believe it. I ain’t callin’ bullshit on that. But why you decided to go about it this way– that, I’d like to know the answer to.”

 

“It is the quickest way to accomplish our goals, the most effective.” Ashe did not believe him and so he waited, and eventually he spoke again, his voice more raw now. “I lost my arm. They took away competing in martial arts tournaments, and that was what made me feel the most alive. I tried to find it in the boardroom, but it wasn’t the same. Talon gave me that back. Talon will give everyone that.”

 

“But it gave you that back,” Ashe said. “It took away all the rules, all the expectations, all the horseshit you had to deal with, and let you be who you really are. Let you be clever and ruthless and tough. Let you live.”

 

“Yes,” Akande said.

 

“Yeah,” Ashe said. Akande laughed. Ashe took another step forward and she could see his face looked soft for the first time she had met him, his eyes crinkled up in a little smile.

 

“I knew you’d be a good partner,” he said. Then he took her hand. Ashe moved in closer, until they were chest to chest. And she could swear it was simultaneous, could swear they moved in perfect unspoken synchronicity, could swear they kissed each other at the exact same time.

 

“This bed’s too small for you,” Ashe said when they broke apart. “Go across the hall. It’s not my room, now.” Akande laughed and she grinned. “But I’m a lady. I’ll still make you breakfast in the morning.”

**Author's Note:**

> They're both trust fund criminal masterminds that look good in suits how does this not make the most sense.
> 
> I'm @tacticalgrandma on tumblr/twitter if you want to talk to me there.
> 
> Thank you so much for reading, and any comments/kudos would mean the world <3


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